1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to walls, barriers, and the like, and particularly to a portable traffic safety barrier having resilient mechanical and electrical connections between sections to maintain their connectivity in the event of displacement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heavy traffic safety barriers have been known and used for some time to separate lanes of vehicle traffic in construction zones and other areas. These barriers have been conventionally formed of concrete. It has generally been felt that the sheer mass of such a barrier is sufficient to prevent its movement to any substantial degree in the event of vehicle impact. Accordingly, little or no effort has been expended to link such barriers to one another when they are placed to form an elongate assembly.
Moreover, it appears that there has been little or no interest in providing mobility for such barriers, again due to the need for the barrier to remain substantially in position in the event of a vehicle impact. Such heavy barriers are generally offloaded from a large flatbed trailer by a crane, and placed in position by the crane. While this technique certainly accomplishes the general goal of barrier installation at a site, it does not allow any “fine tuning” of the position(s) of the barrier(s) afterwards.
Some form of lighting and signage is essential in most traffic barrier installations, as they are often located in congested areas of heavy traffic flow and result in the temporary relocation of entrance and exit ramps and traffic lanes. The conventional concrete traffic barrier has no provision for lighting or signage, so that the installation of sign posts and lighting requires separate wiring runs and supports.
Thus, a portable traffic safety barrier solving the aforementioned problems is desired.